NEPG ROUND 1 - SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA - 2.4.18SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA - Gnarly Routes rider, Russell Bobbitt, attended the opening round of the National Enduro Series held near Sumter, South Carolina, over the weekend and finished 15th in class and 20th overall. The race started off strong for Bobbitt as he posted the fifth fastest time through the opening test section. Bad luck struck in test two when Bobbitt’s KTM quit running after a stick ripped off the fuel injection connector. During the test, Bobbitt had to reattach the connection and prime the system which resulted in losing seven minutes to the competition.

For the remainder of the day, Bobbitt battled the wet and sandy conditions and posted multiple top ten test times.Bobbitt: “Today was crazy conditions! We got off to a decent start in the first test and I felt good going into test two before hitting that stick. I was really happy with how the bike came together, it was working really well but the only thing I missed was setting the bike up a little on the stiff side for the tight woods with roots and deep ruts that we had today.”Next up for the Gnarly Routes team is more bike prep and building up the rental fleet for the first tour that will take place at the end of March. Russell Bobbitt will continue training and preparation for the second round of the National Enduro series that will take place in Louisiana in a month.